Build a winery
There is a farm about 70 or 80 miles outside the city that perfectly suits Fu Zhiqiao's needs.
After a hurried journey, it took two hours to reach the farm. Looking up, the houses in the distance were layered upon each other, all made of mud bricks, with hardly any dilapidated thatched huts in sight.
Wen Jiang saw Fu Zhi Qiao and quickly came to greet her. He was already very familiar with the farm and introduced her to the farm as they walked.
The original owner of the farm was a retired official who had returned to his hometown. His son had become an official in a neighboring county, and recently his son was promoted to work in another place. Because the family was preparing to move, he was in a hurry to sell the farm.
The entire farm covers over a hundred acres, and if you include the barren hills, it's nearly a thousand acres. The farm has everything: vegetable gardens, orchards, ponds, and livestock sheds. The autumn harvest has just ended, and most of the farm's crops have already been harvested.
The farm has a two-courtyard layout, paved with blue bricks, and several large warehouses nearby for storing the harvested grains and fruits.
A large warehouse would be great! She desperately needs a large warehouse!
Fu Zhiqiao carefully observed the large farm, pondering how to make the best use of every inch of land.
After walking around the courtyard, Fu Zhiqiao became increasingly satisfied. The farm's location was excellent, about eleven or twelve miles from the main road, making it convenient for carriages to come and go. This would save a lot of manpower and resources when transporting wine.
Fu Zhiqiao immediately decided to buy the farm.
Although the land here is far from the main city and the price is not as high as in the city, it still cost her more than three thousand taels of silver to buy it. The entire farm, the house, the crops in the fields, and even some servants who did not want to leave were all sold to her as a package.
Rumors of selling the estate had already spread throughout the village.
The villagers of Liujia Village were in a panic. If they sold their estate, what would they do? Would the new owner mistreat them? How would they survive without rent?
The land they are now cultivating belongs to the landlord. The villagers' own small plots of land are simply not enough to support their large families. In order to obtain more food, the villagers voluntarily became tenant farmers, helping their landlords cultivate the land on a daily basis in exchange for food and money.
The relationship between tenants and landlords was one of dependence. Although the tenants were commoners, they were more like semi-servants. They respected and feared the landlords and would perform labor for them without pay, such as logging, guarding the property, and serving as servants.
Liu Pinggu is the village head of Liujia Village. Although he has an ordinary appearance, he has a shrewd look in his eyes. As the village head, he knows the situation in the village better than anyone else.
Fu Zhiqiao smiled and asked, "I invited the village chief here today because there are some things I'd like to ask you about."
Looking at the thin and frail young woman in front of him, Liu Pinggu could hardly believe that she was his new employer. Seeing that Wen Jiang and Wen Shan treated her with great respect, he dared not think too much about it and quickly replied, "You're too kind, employer. Please feel free to ask me anything."
"How's the harvest in the village?"
"If we go back to our master, the good fields will yield 400 catties of grain per mu, and the medium and poor fields will yield 200 to 300 catties of grain per mu."
Fu Zhiqiao is in the liquor business. Brewing requires a lot of grain, and it's not cost-effective to always buy it from outside. Now that he has land to grow some rice and sorghum, he no longer has to worry about the raw materials for brewing.
Fu Zhi continued to ask Qiao, "Is sorghum planted in the village?"
Liu Pinggu hesitated: "May I ask, sir, what is this sorghum? Is it also a grain?"
Fu Zhiqiao: ...
Liu Pinggu, a complete farmer, didn't even know what sorghum was!
Fu Zhiqiao was shocked. Did sorghum not exist in the Great Wei? Or was it simply not grown in the Qingzhou region?
Sorghum is an excellent raw material for brewing!
Fu Zhiqiao never expected that her liquor business would suffer a severe blow so soon after it had just started.
Liu Pinggu didn't hear Fu Zhiqiao's voice for a while. He looked up and saw her in a daze, and asked in a low voice, "Master?"
After calming herself down and talking with Liu Pinggu, Fu Zhiqiao learned more about the situation in the village.
Liujia Village has about a hundred households, totaling nearly two thousand people, most of whom are tenant farmers on the farm. The rent between the landlord and the tenant is split 30/70, with the landlord receiving 70% and the tenant receiving 30%. The taxes paid to the state also come from the tenant's 30%.
Each household was allocated land according to the number of male members; the more land they cultivated, the more grain they received. Liu Pinggu, for example, had many male members in his family and rented more than 20 mu of farmland. After paying the rent and taxes, his family could still receive nearly a thousand jin of grain each year.
After learning about the basic situation of the farm and Liujia Village, Fu Zhiqiao had a better understanding of the situation.
"They're out! The new owner is out!" someone shouted.
When the villagers gathered outside the courtyard saw Fu Zhi Qiao come out, they swarmed around her. Yin Xing and De Fu immediately shielded her behind them, afraid that these people would offend their young lady.
"Greetings, Master!" A group of people bowed to the tall Wenjiang.
They subconsciously regarded Wenjiang as the new owner of the farm.
"No, no, no!" Wen Jiang hurriedly shook his head and said to Fu Zhi Qiao, "The young lady is the new owner of our farm."
this……
I never expected my new employer to be a young girl.
The villagers looked at Fu Zhiqiao, who was being supported in the middle, and saw that her clothes and appearance were indeed unusual. Then they looked at her face and their faces showed tension. They looked at each other with confusion and worry in their eyes.
What should we do? They mistook the landlord for someone else. What if the landlord gets angry and refuses to rent the land to them?
When the villagers offered her gifts, Fu Zhiqiao smiled and nodded without saying a word.
She didn't look fierce, and the villagers breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, an old man carrying a basket of eggs said he wanted to give them to her: "Boss, this is a small token of our appreciation from everyone. Please don't find it too much!"
Fu Zhi Qiao waved her hand in refusal: "Old man, I don't need anything, please take your things back quickly!"
When the old man heard that Fu Zhiqiao refused to accept these things, his face turned pale. The tenants standing behind him also looked nervous and asked cautiously, "Then, boss, will you still rent land to us in the future?"
Fu Zhiqiao understood their concerns. The tenants worried that after the manor changed owners, the land would be rented to new tenants, which would force them, the old tenants, to leave, effectively cutting off their livelihood. That's why they rushed over to show their goodwill to her.
Fu Zhiqiao gave her a wink.
Wen Jiang coughed lightly and spoke on behalf of Fu Zhi Qiao, saying that the land in the estate would still be rented to them next year, the rent would not increase, and everything would remain the same.
After receiving accurate information, the villagers were all satisfied. Most of the farmers had no ambitions; they were content as long as they had enough to eat and wear and could earn money to support their families.
After signing the sales contract, the estate was registered and transferred at the government office.
We have the land, but how do we utilize it?
Considering future development, the current winery can no longer support the production volume, so it would be better to simply build an independent winery. After all, so much has already been invested, and expanding production is the most important thing right now.
Building a winery and making wine both require people, and Liujia Village is a good choice.
As the village head, Liu Pinggu was in charge of leading this matter.
The manor will sign a separate long-term contract with the villagers for the labor. If they do not complete the required number of years, they will have to pay compensation. Once the contract is signed, there is no room for reneging. Fu Zhiqiao told Liu Pinggu to think it over carefully.
No need to think about it anymore! Even a fool could tell this was a great opportunity, so Liu Pinggu readily agreed on the spot.
"Remember to pick some who are diligent and have good character."
"Don't worry, sir, I'll take my leave now."
Liu Pinggu not only gained Fu Zhiqiao's favor but also got an important job. He was overjoyed and spread the news as soon as he returned to the village: the new employer was going to build a workshop and needed many workers. The workers would be recruited from the village first, and they would have to be young, strong, healthy, and hardworking. There were no gender restrictions. They would have to follow orders while working. Lunch would be provided in the village and wages would be paid according to the amount of work done.
With food and drink provided and wages paid, families could earn extra income besides farming, so naturally no one was unwilling, and all those with able-bodied members signed up.
This is fantastic news! The villagers were overjoyed.
Liu Pinggu immediately asked those who were willing to sign up.
Fu Zhiqiao had prepared a contract in advance and asked Liu Pinggu to take it back for the villagers to sign. Since the villagers were illiterate and could not write, they had to have their children who could read and write read it to them. After confirming that there were no problems, everyone put their fingerprints on the contract.
The matter has been settled for now.
*
The production of Taibai liquor cannot be taken lightly. As soon as she got home, Fu Zhiqiao locked herself in her study to write plans and draw blueprints.
The candlelight in the study burned until midnight.
A winery is a must, along with a grain warehouse, a koji-making room, a fermentation room, a drying hall, a distillation room... Oh, and a huge wine cellar too.
Fu Zhiqiao planned to designate a large open area on the estate, dividing it according to the Taibai winemaking process. As soon as her drawings were completed, Wenshan immediately found people to build the factory buildings. However, the winery couldn't be completed in a short time, so the vacant warehouses on the estate could be converted into a winery.
Building a large-scale house is no small matter. According to the customs of the Great Wei Dynasty, people would consult a feng shui master before building a house.
If something exists, it has a reason. Some things are true if you believe them and false if you don't. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and the necessary procedures still need to be followed.
Wenjiang stayed at the farm to manage things, and Fu Zhiqiao entrusted all the miscellaneous tasks to Wenjiang.
"Don't worry, young lady, everything has been arranged."
Building a house requires timber, so Wenjiang led a group into Huaping Mountain to find timber for the roof beams. They unexpectedly discovered a natural spring.
The mountains were very quiet, with the occasional call of birds. As soon as you entered the mountains, you were surrounded by greenery, all of which were flowers, fruit trees and shrubs that Fu Zhiqiao did not recognize.
The ground was covered with withered yellow leaves, which made a crisp sound when stepped on.
The spring is located on the upper part of the mountainside. The spring is very deep, and the water seeps out from the rocks and flows into a valley to form a pool of water.
Day after day, year after year, a deep pool was formed. The mountain spring water was icy cold and pure, without a trace of impurity. Fu Zhiqiao scooped up a handful of water and tasted it. It was refreshing and sweet, and the cool spring water invigorated her.
Winemaking requires very specific water quality, and this mountain spring water is perfect for it. When the time comes, we can cut down bamboo, remove the nodes, and connect them together to form a pipeline to bring the spring water directly to the winery at the foot of the mountain.
Fu Zhiqiao immediately decided that the spring water must be protected and that the mountain should be off-limits to others in order to minimize water pollution.
Custom-made tools were continuously brought into Liujia Village, and the healthy, strong, and capable workers selected by Liu Pinggu also arrived. After a few days of training, they would be able to officially start working.
Two days later, the temporary winery in the village also officially started production.
To this end, Fu Zhiqiao specially bought some people from other places who had signed a life-or-death contract and had them brew wine with Old Man Gao.
With the tools in place and the staff expanded, the winery gradually took shape, and the production issue was finally resolved, putting Fu Zhiqiao at ease.
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